Hedda Gabler Essay, Research Paper

HEDDA GABLER – LONG ESSAY

Henrik Ibsen portrays a microcosm of nineteenth century Norwegian society

in his play Hedda Gabler. Hedda, the protagonist, exhibits a mixture of

masculine and feminine traits due to her unique upbringing under General

Gabler and the social mores imposed upon her. However, although this society

venerates General Gabler because of his military status, his daughter Hedda

is not tolerated due to her non-conformity to the accepted gender

stereotypes. Hedda’s gender-inverted marriage to Jorgan Tesman, her desire

for power and her use of General Gabler’s pistols are unacceptable in her

society and motif of “One doesn’t do such a thing!” that is alluded to

during the play and expounded upon Hedda’s death that shows that Hedda’s

uncertain stance between masculine and feminine gender roles and their

associated traits is not tolerated by her society.

Ibsen employs a reversal of traditional gender roles within Hedda and

Jorgen Tesman’s marriage to emphasises Hedda’s masculine traits. Hedda

displays no emotion or affection towards her husband Jorgen. This appearance

of indifference is a trait that is usually common to men: Tesman – “My old

morning shoes. My slippers look!…I missed them dreadfully. Now you should

see them, Hedda.” Hedda – “No thanks, it really doesn’t interest me’. In

another gender role reversal, Hedda displays a financial awareness, which

her husband, Jorgen does not posses. Although Brack corresponds with Tesman

about his honeymoon travels, he corresponds with Hedda concerning the

financial matters. This is a role that is usually reserved for men.

Hedda does not only display traits, which are definitively masculine, or

feminine, she also objects to and often defies the conventions established

for her gender by society. She rejects references to her pregnancy as a

reminder of her gender: Tesman – “Have you noticed how plump (Hedda’s)

grown, and how well she is? How much she’s filled out on our travels?”

Hedda – “Oh be quiet!” Hedda is reminded not only of her feminine role of

mother and nurturer here, but also as wife and “appendage” to Tesman: “And

to think is was you who carried off Hedda Gabler! The lovely Hedda

Gabler!…now that you have got the wife your heart was set on.” As a woman

of the haute bourgeoisie, Hedda is “sought after” and “always had so many

admirers” and has been “acquired” by Tesman as hide wife. Hedda resents the

gender conventions that dictate that she now “belongs” to the Tesman family

- a situation that would not occur were she a man: Tesman – “Only it seems

to me now that you belong to the family…” Hedda- ” Well, I really don’t

know…”

Although these traits displayed by Hedda are masculine, they are not those,

which her society cannot tolerate. To entertain herself in her “boring”

marriage she plays with her father’s, General Gabler’s, pistols: Hedda -

“Sometimes I think I only have a talent for one thing…boring myself to

death!” “I still have one thing to kill time with. My pistols, Jorgen.

General Gabler’s pistols” Jorgen – “For goodness’ sake! Hedda darling! Don’t

touch those dangerous things! For my sake, Hedda!”. These pistols are a

symbol of masculinity and are associated with war, a pastime which women are

excluded from other than in the nurturing role of nurses and are thus not

tolerated by society. Tesman implores Hedda to cease playing with them, but

even his “superior” position as her husband does not dissuade Hedda, who is

found to be playing with them by Brack at the beginning of act two. Brack

also reminds Hedda of the inappropriate nature of her “entertainment” and

physically takes the pistols away from Hedda. Hedda – “I’m going to shoot

you sir!” Brack – “No, no, no!…Now stop this nonsense!” [taking the pistol

gently out of her hand]. If you don’t mind, my dear lady….Because we’re

not going to play that game any more today.”

As a parallel to Hedda’s masculine game of playing with General Gabler’s

pistols, Hedda plays the traditionally female role of a “minx” with Brack.

Hedda – “Doesn’t it feel like a whole eternity since we last talked to each

other?”

Brack – “Not like this, between ourselves? Alone together, you mean?”

Hedda – “Yes, more or less that”

Brack – “Here was I, every blessed day, wishing to goodness you were home

again”

Hedda – “And there was I, the whole time, wishing exactly the same”

At the beginning of act two, Hedda encourages Brack’s flirtation with her

by telling him the true nature of her marriage to Tesman that it is a

marriage of convenience: Brack – “But, tell me…I don’t quite see why, in

that case…er…” Hedda – “Why Jorgen and I ever made a match of it, you

mean? Hedda – “I had simply danced myself out, my dear sir. My time was up.”

Brack is emboldened by Hedda’s seeming availability and pursues the notion

of a “triangular relationship” with Hedda. Not only does Hedda’s

“coquettish” behaviour towards Brack exhibits the feminine side of her

nature, it also demonstrates that in some instances she conforms to

society’s expectations of females. Hedda’s reference to “(her) time (being)

up” shows the socially accepted view that women must marry, because they are

not venerated as spinsters. By conforming to this aspect of her society’s

mores and marrying before she becomes a socially unacceptable spinster,

Hedda demonstrates that she is undeniably female and accepts this.

Hedda’s constantly seeks power over those people she comes in contact with.

As a woman, she has no control over society at large, and thus seeks to

influence the characters she comes into contact with in an emulation of her

father’s socially venerated role as a general. Hedda pretends to have been

friends with Thea in order to solicit her confidence: Thea – “But that’s the

last thing in the world I wanted to talk about!” Hedda – “Not to me, dear?

After all, we were at school together.” Thea – “Yes, but you were a class

above me. How dreadfully frightened of you I was in those days!” Once Hedda

learns of Thea’s misgivings about Lovborg’s newfound resolve, she uses it to

destroy their “comradeship” .

Hedda – “Now you see for yourself! There’s not the slightest need for you

to go about in this deadly anxiety…”

Lovborg – “So it was deadly anxiety …on my behalf.”

Thea – [softly and in misery] Oh, Hedda! How could you!”

Lovborg – “So this was my comrade’s absolute faith in me.”

Hedda then manipulates Lovborg, by challenging his masculinity, into going

to Brack’s bachelor party and resuming his drunken ways of old. Hedda’s

“reward” for this is to find that Lovborg’s manuscript, his and Thea’s

“child” falls into her hands, where she burns it, thus destroying the child

and alto the relationship, both of which Hedda was jealous of.

Similarly, Hedda seeks to push her husband, Jorgan, into politics: “(I was

wondering) whether I could get my husband to go into politics…” This

would raise Hedda’s social standing and allow her to attain and maintain

power. Hedda’s manipulation of people in order to attain power is a trait

that is stereotypically predominant in men. The society of nineteenth

century Norway venerates the image of submissive, static passive and pure

women. Roles of power are normally allocated to men in such a society.

The society in Hedda Gabler demonstrates its intolerance of Hedda’s

masculine behaviour by contributing to her death. Hedda is found to be

playing with her pistols in act two by Brack. After disgracing himself and

returning to his “immoral” ways at Hedda’s behest, Lovborg is manipulated by

Hedda into “taking his life beautifully” and she gives him one of General

Gabler’s pistols. However Lovborg dies from an accidental wound to the

stomach rather than a patrician death from a bullet to the head and Brack,

utilising his position of power within the judicial system, sees the pistol

that he accidentally killed himself with. Recognising it as being General

Gabler’s pistol, he returns to Hedda to stake his claim. Hedda refuses to be

in the power of Brack, she had been “heartily thankful that (he had) no

power over (her)” however, her fear is realised as Brack attempts to force

his way into a “triangular relationship” with Hedda (and Tesman) in return

for not exposing the scandal that she had provided Lovborg with the

instrument of his death. Hedda is “as fearful of scandal as all that” and

takes her life, ironically avoiding the scandal surrounding Lovborg’s death

and yet causing a scandal concerning her own. Hedda’s masculine preference

for the pistols to any feminine task of housekeeping and her fear of scandal

due to not conforming with society’s accepted gender roles leads her to kill

herself, thus demonstrating that things which “one doesn’t do” are not

tolerated by her society of nineteenth century Norway.